The Billings Free Press

From the Billings Gazette:

• BIG SKY POLKAFEST: Al Bedoo Shrine Auditorium, 1125 Broadwater Ave. 2 p.m., doors open. 3-11 p.m., waltz, two-step, polka, jitterbug, schottische and country dancing. 656-7470.

• BURN THE POINT: Downtown. 5:30 p.m., staging for parade of classic autos. 7 p.m., parade travels west on Third Avenue North from North 26th Street and returns along Second Avenue North. Street dance with Bucky Beaver and the Ground Grippers follows in 100 block of North Broadway.

• “THE PRODUCERS”: Billings Studio Theatre, 1500 Rimrock Road. 8 p.m. Local cast in award-winning show by Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan about past-his-prime theatrical producer and comeback try. $15. 248-1141.

The ZooMontana site has their page for MargaZOOritaville up.

They have Rupert Holmes’ “Escape” playing on the page so it’s worth the click just for that bit of nostalgia!

From the Billings Gazette:

Sign-up under way for pet competition

Registration is taking place for ZooMontana’s Stupid Pet Tricks competition, which will be held at noon Aug. 22 at ZooMontana’s MargaZOOritaville event.

To compete, participants must turn in a registration form, which can be found at ZooMontana or online at www.zoomontana.org, along with a $15 registration fee and their current veterinarian records.

Prizes will be awarded for Most Creative Trick, Most Adorable Pet and Hardest Trick to Master. A panel of local celebrity judges and local dog training professional Tony Barone will decide the winners.

Stupid Pet Tricks will be one entertainment showcase at ZooMontana’s end of summer event, MargaZOOritaville. MargaZOOritaville will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 7 p.m.

Events include karaoke, volleyball, dancing and more, along with frozen, nonalcoholic drink concoctions.

For more information, contact Jenny Moellendorf, PR/marketing coordinator, at 652-8100, ext. 15 or events@zoomontana.org.

There isn’t anything on the ZooMontana website about MargaZOOritaville yet but keep checking back.

Saturday
•The Yellowstone Valley Farmers Market satisfies your craving for homegrown food, street music and a social Saturday with vendors and shoppers everywhere. 8:30 a.m. to noon, downtown. Saturdays through Oct. 4. Be sure to check out the AAUW book sale!

•Sturgis Motorcycle Rally attendees and fans get ready for the big event at the Warm Up Rally, an event sponsored by the Billings Motorcycle Club. Gates open at 10 a.m. for a busy day of events, including a poker run, bikini bike wash and KickinPromo Girls, a vintage bike show at 3 p.m., and live music by Black Velvet at 11 a.m. and South Carolina’s D.B. Bryant Band at 4 p.m. MetraPark. Free admission.

•Beartooth Harley-Davidson/Buell holds a warm-up for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally open to everybody with live music by D’Tective and burgers, brats and drinks from the Powderhorn Lounge. Noon to 5 p.m., 6900 S. Frontage Road. Free admission.

Saturday & Sunday
•Rangers lead hour-long interpretative tours on a half-mile loop through Pictograph Cave State Park. 10 a.m. and noon, Saturdays and Sundays through August. Free, with no reservations required.

Check out the Billings Outpost’s Calendar of events for more activities around the area.

Viva La Fiesta, a first-time event, brings a Mexican fiesta back to South Park, complete with tamale contests and music by Di Nastia. 5-8 p.m., South Park. Friday through Sunday.

The Magic City Hot Air Balloon Rally begins Friday with a morning flight. 6 a.m., Amend Park. Rides cost $175; for information, contact mchaba@bresnan.net. Through Sunday.

The Midlife Chryslers play live music at the Alive After 5 weekly concert. Thursday, 5-8 p.m., Dean Wright CPA, 404 N. 31st St.

Check out the Gazette’s Local & Live feature.

The Billings Outpost publishes an excellent calendar of events every week. I find it to be easier than the Gazette’s to utilize since I can find everything together within a few pages of each issue. The Outpost’s calendar gives an overview of the entire week. The Gazette does a fine job of publishing daily events but sometimes you only find out about some events the day they happen.